Snyder visits flood-damaged Warren home as resident recovers in hospital

8:02 PM, August 18, 2014

Elizabeth Scaris, of Warren, was in St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Madison Heights recovering from leg infections as Gov. Rock Snyder toured her flood-damaged home Aug. 18, 2014. / Robert Allen/Detroit Free Press

As the Michigan governor visited her house in Warren to see the flood damage, Elizabeth Scaris could only watch from the small television at her hospital bed.

She’d scrambled a week earlier to salvage valuables from her basement and save her Rottweilers from the quickly rising floodwaters. Her legs were jabbed and scratched. Bacteria, most likely from the filthy, murky water, had caused a rapidly growing infection.

When the waters receded, Scaris and her roommate were left with one of the worst cases of flood damage spanning several cities in metro Detroit: Their basement had caved in, leaving a gaping hole and causing structural problems.

Gov. Rick Snyder came to the home on the 24000 block of Eureka on a walking tour this morning with U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, and Warren Mayor Jim Fouts. Fouts strongly emphasized his aim of bringing government aid to the thousands of residents affected in his city.

“They’re putting up with all kinds of discomforts and indignities,” he said.

Scaris, who said she’s about 40, is lead singer and guitarist for the band the Luck Outs. She owns the house with Gretchen Domino, who turns 53 Tuesday. They’d been recording a new album in the basement for several months, and it was among the pieces they hurried to save from the Aug. 11 flood.

Metal drum kit pieces are likely among the items that cut up her legs, Scaris said.

She woke up Saturday morning unable to walk and was admitted to St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Madison Heights with swelling in both legs, the one with a swollen area the size of a softball, she said.

Next door, Coreena Dragoi, 46, moved to a tent in her front yard after the floodwaters destroyed the insides of her home and led to fast-growing mold, she said. She and her son, Jeremy Long, 29, have had to fend off scavengers, they said.

Snyder said he has asked the state insurance commissioner to look into the situation. And he has been in contact with officials at the state and federal level regarding flood problems.

“Right now, we’re just trying to get answers for people,” he said.

He encouraged people to document their flood damage, such as with photos, and to send the information to local governments, which will forward it to the state.

Domino and Scaris said their insurance isn’t helping with their serious damage. Domino estimates the basement’s contents — slot machines, music memorabilia and other sound equipment — are about a $60,000 loss. During the flood, the women had their hands full with three Rottweilers, one of which they had to pull from the deep cave-in hole next to the basement.

“The dogs thought we had a swimming pool,” Scaris said.

Sally, one of the dogs, drank the floodwater and got sick with vomiting and diarrhea. Scaris said she knew the water was dangerous, but they had to keep going.

“My wounds were burning,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh, well, I got to save what I can save now.’ The water — it was coming out by the washer and dryer so fast.”

The roommates compared it to the Titanic, with water coming in through multiple places, rising quickly.

Fouts said during the tour that if the federal government can help flood victims in foreign countries, it should help the people of Warren.

“We’ve got to get help from the federal government as soon as possible,” he said.